


Unexcused Absence

by Fairfaxleasee



Series: Alistair/Amelia [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29635701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fairfaxleasee/pseuds/Fairfaxleasee
Summary: When Eamon decides Alistair is too distracted by Amelia, he sends her to Gwaren until the wedding in the hopes that Alistair will manage to accomplish a thing or two in the interim.
Relationships: Alistair (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Alistair/Amelia [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141979
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Unexcused Absence

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at fairfaxleasee.tumblr.com
> 
> Thanks to @blondetexan and @xqueen0fhellx for betaing

Amelia MacTir stared at the veritable swamp of papers spread over her father’s desk. 

_ No, not his desk, MY desk _ .

She was still having a hard time remembering that. This was the first time she’d been at the Gwaren Keep in well over a year, and being back was taking more getting used to than she’d thought. She’d grown up here, but before she’d gotten lost on her way to Lothering - and everything that happened since - most of her memories of being in the Keep involved being confined to her rooms (maybe ‘confined’ wasn’t entirely fair as she never had much desire to be out of them, but as she doubted she’d have gotten permission to if she wanted it, it wasn’t entirely unfair either). It had been years since she’d spent any time in her father’s office. She meant her office. Still, she remembered the furniture being bigger. And there being fewer papers.

Although the amount of papers shouldn’t be a surprise, there hadn’t been a Teryn (or Teryna) in the Keep since her father had gone to Denerim, dragging her with him of course, at the beginning of the Blight. She still wasn’t quite sure what the point in  _ her _ being Teryna was (aside from the obvious reason that there was no one else to do it; her father wasn’t going to be allowed back into the role after losing his bid for the Regency at the Landsmeet where she’d been the one who sealed his fate by supporting Alistair and the Wardens, on top of that he was a Warden himself now, and her sister had been stripped of any noble titles after she refused to swear fidelity to Alistair). She was only going to be Teryna for a grand total of about four months; after the wedding in a little over two she’d be Queen. Both of those things still made her slightly queasy, not that she was able to tell anyone. The wedding, at least, made her queasy in a good way; being the daughter of a Teryn she knew she’d  _ have _ to get married at some point, but she had generally assumed the entire process would be transactional and just lead to a new state of affairs she’d have to learn to put up with; the idea of  _ wanting _ to marry someone was still taking some getting used to, but if Alistair knew  _ she _ was nervous, it would just make  _ him _ nervous, which would just make her  _ more _ nervous, and they would carry on like that and not be able to get anything done. As for the Queen bit, another of the assumptions she’d had about her life is that she’d never be anything more than a figurehead with odd hobbies; she never considered she’d be in any sort of actual position of power (or that anyone would be willing to  _ listen _ to what she was saying) and she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do with it, let alone what she should do with it. And she  _ really _ couldn’t tell anyone about being nervous about being Queen, because if Alistair heard  _ that _ he would start complaining about how it was unfair of her to make him be King when she didn’t want to be Queen.

So maybe being Teryna for a bit in the interim wasn’t a terrible idea. She still kind of wished she didn’t have to be in Gwaren to do it. She could use her father’s old office, but she couldn’t quite wrap her head around using his chambers, so she was back in the ones she’d spent a decade haunting out of sight of people who might notice too much (not that she’d known that at the time) and she was finding it distinctly eerie to begin and end the day in the place where she’d spent years with minimal autonomy but spend it with everyone looking to  _ her _ for advice and instruction.

And it was acutely irritating that she couldn’t be annoyed with Eamon for insisting she do it, because he hadn’t been entirely wrong about why.

He’d found her in the Palace archives (which were  _ still _ a mess, it would take her  _ years _ to even make a dent in them). Well, he’d gone after her  _ into _ the Palace archives, then stood there calling for her to come out to speak to him until she did a few weeks before Alistair’s coronation to tell her about his decision.

“There you are, Amelia. How’s it coming back there anyway? You’ll be done soon, I trust?” Eamon had been standing by the table with his arms crossed and an expression that reminded Amelia of her father’s but with less patience for her.

“It’s coming as well as can be expected given I’m the only one who’s working on it and it doesn’t look like any archivist has touched the place since  _ Calanhad _ . And that should give you some sense of when I expect I might be done.” Even knowing who Eamon was to her, she still didn’t really trust the man. He was one of those men who had a clear idea of what they wanted the world to be and little tolerance for anything that didn’t match up with that. And while Alistair being King was definitely something he wanted, Amelia still didn’t know just how begrudging his tolerance of the idea of her being Queen was.

“Hm. Disappointing.”

“I’m not the only archivist in Ferelden; if you want it to go faster, hire some of them.”

“I’d rather not. But that’s not what I’m here to discuss. Given that you’re officially the Teryna, I think it’s best that you stay in Gwaren after the Coronation until the wedding. The dress is the only thing you’re needed for, and you can get your measurements taken now and any last-minute alterations can be taken care of when you come back up.”

“But-”

“ _ Not only _ has there been no Teyrn overseeing the holding in over a year, I’d think that you would agree - particularly given what happened earlier this week - you’re a distraction to Alistair.”

“I’ve taught him more than any of your other tutors!”

“That may be true, but I’m skeptical about just how much of it will come in handy once he’s King.”

Amelia seethed at the implications and possibly-implied threat. “He got the work finished.”

“ _ Eventually _ .” They glared at each other for a few seconds. Amelia didn’t know who the man thought he was kidding, glaring at her; her father was both objectively better at it and she actually cared about what he thought of her. Eamon either realized he wasn’t going to win or thought better of being confrontational because he sighed and offered his explanation, “Amelia, I’m sure you realize the boy has quite a bit of catching up to do in terms of his education and training. He needs to be able to focus on what he needs to learn and when you’re around all he wants to focus on is  _ you _ . I know you want to help him, and right now the best way to do that is by not being a distraction to him.”

Amelia glanced away and pursed her lips. She  _ did _ want to help Alistair, and she knew he got distracted (although if Eamon thought he knew the half of it, he should try talking to Theron sometime), but she didn’t want to be sent away where people might forget about her again. “I don’t… what if I just come up for a few days a month to visit?”

“Dear Maker, you’re as bad as he is, aren’t you?” Eamon muttered under his breath. Amelia still wasn’t sure whether she was meant to have heard that or not, he continued at his usual volume, “You’ll only be in Gwaren for a little over two months before you’ll be back up here for the wedding. You’ll survive. You’ll  _ both _ survive. I’ll let him know after the Coronation.”

“No,  _ I’ll _ let him know after the Coronation.  _ And _ whose idea it was  _ and _ who said I couldn’t visit.” She was glaring at him now.

Eamon narrowed his eyes a bit before he relented. “Fine. Just try not to be too much of a distraction in the meantime and don’t forget you have your own work to be getting on with, like fixing these archives.”

Someone had thrown a full inkwell at the door once Eamon had walked through it.

Alistair had been even more disappointed in the news than Amelia was.

“Gwaren? What do you need to go to Gwaren for?” Alistair couldn’t seem to decide whether he wanted to pretend to be confused or pout.

“I told you Alistair, I need to go deal with everything in the holding that’s piled up since my father was last there.”

“So make him do it.”

“Make him be Teyrn, you mean?”

“I… no, okay, not THAT.” He reached out and grabbed Amelia into a tight embrace, “Why can’t you do that  _ here _ , love?”

“Because all the things I need to do it are  _ in _ Gwaren.” She reached up to run a hand along his jaw, “And  _ you _ need to get used to being King. And the general consensus is that I’m a terrible distraction.”

He took her hand and kissed it, “Yes, but you’re  _ my _ terrible distraction.”

“Alistair… I’m sorry. I don’t want to go-”

He let go of her hand and pressed her closer so he could kiss her neck, “So then why  _ are _ you?”

“Because Eamon didn’t give me much of a choice. And he’s  _ right _ that it’ll be easier for me to do what I need to do if I’m in Gwaren,  _ and _ that I distract you.”

He stopped kissing her and rested his chin on her head, “When will you be back?”

She wrapped her arms around his chest, “Not until just before the wedding.”

“That’s more than two months from now!”

“I  _ know _ , Alistair…”

He sighed, “Eamon’s idea again?”

“Eamon’s idea again. I don’t know, I’m worried he might-”

He squeezed her tightly enough to make it hard for her to breathe, “It won’t work. I found you, and I’m not letting you go, Amelia.”

“Thank you,” she only had enough breath to whisper.

He tightened his grip for a few heartbeats before letting her go, “Promise you’ll write?”

“Well, I can promise I’ll write, but do you think Eamon’s going to let you read what I do?”

“Yes. Once it’s been a week, I’ll refuse to do any more work until he gives me your letters.”

“Please don’t, he’ll send me to the Free Marches next…”

“But promise you’ll write?”

“How about I write to Teagan and you can ask to read those letters? That way I might just be able to hear what your reply is.” 

“I’m lucky you’re so clever, love.” He paused and started adjusting strands of her hair, “Will you be okay in Gwaren for two months?”

She tried to smile but wasn’t sure how convincingly she managed to do it, “Alistair, I grew up there. And I think the general expectation was that I’d be Teryna at  _ some _ point. I think the surprise is that everyone’s going to be listening to me and not my husband.”

“Yes, I agree, absolutely  _ no one _ should listen to your husband when they could listen to you. Honestly, I worry about that man sometimes.”

She laughed and shook her head, “I don’t have a husband for you to be worried about.”

He looked down at her, “No, but you will have soon enough. Even if it’s not nearly soon enough.” He began to lean in to kiss her, but something caught his eye and he stopped. Amelia started to turn around to see what it was, but he caught her chin and kissed her cheek. He rubbed his nose along her ear and whispered, “Be safe, love. Come back to me.”

“Honestly, Alistair,” Eamon’s disappointed drawl cut through Amelia like a knife, “It is for  _ two months _ . Although if you don’t make progress, we may need to rethink that.”

Amelia scowled and grasped Alistair’s arm. “Don’t worry,” he whispered to her, “If we rethink anything, it will move the wedding up, not back.”

“I can hear you, Alistair. Amelia, your carriage is waiting.”

She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek then turned and headed for the carriage before Eamon got any ideas about forcing her to.

She’d kept her promise to write, but so far she’d only gotten one response from Teagan that she wasn’t particularly optimistic about.

‘Amelia,

Alistair told me you’d be writing him through me, but Eamon’s not happy with the work he’s been doing. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to give him your messages. (I’ll tell him I told you this, but I think we both know he’ll be disappointed if you stop writing, even if he isn’t getting the letters, so please do continue to write, just don’t be worried if I can’t give you his responses.)

I’m sorry; I know this is hard for both of you. Eamon’s started dropping more hints about moving the wedding back. I’ll do what I can to make sure that doesn’t happen (although just between us, I don’t know who he thinks he’s kidding; Alistair will break out of the palace and run straight to Gwaren to elope with you if Eamon tries to move it back more than a week) but if you start to hear rumors or whispers, DON’T WORRY - Alistair is absolutely mad about you, and if anything, it’s gotten worse since you left for Gwaren.

(And I know you don’t care nearly as much, but I must say I miss you as well.)

Teagan’

Amelia couldn’t say she was surprised about  _ anything _ in the letter, but it was disappointing that not only could she not see Alistair, they wouldn’t be able to communicate at all. But she supposed she really didn’t have time to be disappointed by Teagan’s letter when there was the swamp of papers on the desk to deal with.

She picked the top one off the nearest pile.

‘Petition for Royal Pardon:

The Honorable Magistrate John Burnan hereby petitions the Crown to consider granting a pardon to Cassia Amell Hawke for the crime of desertion. Given the events at the battle of Ostagar-’

She stopped reading. She had no idea whether this was actually a paper that had been waiting for her in Gwaren or she had somehow ended up with some of Alistair’s and brought them with her (although if the man had found some way to send her his work and not write her back she’d be  _ very _ cross with him). The letter was seeking a pardon, so it would have to go to the Crown at  _ some _ point, but it was from Gwaren’s magistrate and he may have sent it to her here in the hopes she’d be more sympathetic to a local petition from someone as respected as Magistrate Burnan than Alistair, who would know nothing about the man. Or maybe all petitions for pardon got sent to the local lords first  _ then _ went on to the crown? She had no idea. Fortunately, her father-

“AMELIA!”

She dropped the letter and turned in time to see Alistair rushing towards her. As soon as he was close enough to, he reached out and pulled her to him. He leaned down and crushed his lips to hers. She raised her hands to rub them along the sides of his jaw as she reciprocated the touch. He snaked one hand around her back to press her even closer and plunged the other into the waves of her chestnut brown hair to grab a fistful and tug at it lightly before letting go and adjusting his hand slightly to begin again. She had no idea which of them started it, but the kiss was becoming more passionate, more desperate by the second; his tongue penetrating her mouth, her teeth grabbing his lower lip when he tried to pull away and adjust the angle, their hands roaming over each other’s bodies as though they’d forgotten what the other felt like. The kiss seemed to stretch on forever, but was over too quickly when they were forced to break apart to gasp for air. Alistair held fistfuls of her hair by the sides of her face and she rubbed her hands on his neck as they pressed their foreheads together and their lips kept straining to meet again while they caught their breath.

“Alistair! Wha-what are you doing here? Aren’t… aren’t you supposed to be in Denerim?”

He snatched her lips between his and she moaned into his mouth, but they were still out of breath from the previous kiss and had to part again. He whispered against the side of her mouth, “Heh, well, love, Eamon says I manage to get even less done when I’m distracted missing you than when I’m distracted by you, so he sent me down here to get some work done. At least until I can bring you back up to Denerim with me.”

“Alistair, you can’t just  _ stay here _ until the wedding! You need to be in Denerim!”

“Oh, don’t worry love,” he let go of her hair so his hands could encircle her waist, “I plan for us to head back to Denerim long before the wedding.”

“Alistair, I have work I need to do!”

“That’s fine.” He pressed gentle kisses to her lips between his words, “But I’m not going back to Denerim without you. Eamon says I’m not  _ allowed _ to, matter of fact.”

“Alistair, my father is coming to visit for a week to help me sort through all these papers.”

He pouted at her, “So your father’s joined forces with the papers against me, has he?”

“The papers wouldn’t be against you if you just paid them the slightest bit of attention! And unless  _ you _ can help me with them to his satisfaction, he’s going to come.”

Alistair grabbed a paper at random, “What’s a tariff and why do they need to be assessed?”

“ _ You told me you learned about imports three weeks ago! _ ”

“Oh? Is a tariff an import then?”

She shook her head at him, “You are  _ so _ lucky I love you so much, Alistair Theirin.”

“And don’t I know it, Amelia soon-to-be Theirin.” He dropped the paper so he could hold her with both hands again.


End file.
